Goodbye, taters; bye-bye, rice

Move over, mashed potatoes and rice. It's time to make room on the plate for some new sides.

SHARON K. GHAG

Move over, mashed potatoes and rice. It's time to make room on the plate for some new sides.

Nick Malgieri's spinach and Roquefort bread pudding combines leafy greens with a blue-veined cheese to create a moist and tender pudding. It's delicious out of the oven and even better the next day at the bottom of a bowl of broth-based soup.

Malgieri suggests making the pudding with sausage, bacon or herbs. Always make sure, he says in "Bread" (Kyle Books, $29.95) that the vegetables are cooked so that they don't exude excess water into the pudding as raw vegetables might.

The next suggestion is broccoli and minas cheese soufflé. Leticia Moreinos Schwartz's recipe in "The Brazilian Kitchen" (Kyle Books, $19.95) calls for broccoli, broccolini or broccoli rabe, but it's equally delicious with a cup of mixed vegetables and a cup of edamame. These soufflés also have a fluffier texture than the traditional version made with whipped egg whites.

Serves: 6 to 8

From: "The Brazilian Kitchen: 100 Classic and Creative Recipes for the Home Cook," by Leticia Moreinos Schwartz (Kyle Books, $19.95)

2 cups whole milk

6 tablespoons butter, more for ramekins

6 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Pinch of ground nutmeg and pinch of cayenne pepper

5 whole eggs

2 cups grated minas cheese (about ½ pound)

1 1/3 cups chopped cooked broccoli

¼ cup grated Parmesan

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Lightly coat the insides of the ramekins with melted butter.

Bring the milk to a light simmer in a small saucepan.

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over low heat. Add the flour, whisk well, and cook until it's blended, about 1 minute. Add the warm milk all at once and whisk well until it's a smooth béchamel sauce. Season with salt and pepper, nutmeg and cayenne. Transfer to a bowl and let cool at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes.

Break all the eggs in a small bowl, season with a small pinch of salt and pepper, and lightly whisk them together.

Add the eggs to the bechamel sauce and whisk well until completely smooth. Add the Minas cheese and broccoli and fold everything together with a spatula.

Pour the batter inside the prepared ramekins, about three quarters full. Sprinkle the Parmesan on top of each. Place the ramekins on a baking sheet and bake until they are puffed and lightly golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from oven and serve immediately.

Makes: About 6 generous servings

From: "Nick Maligieri's Bread" (Kyle Books, $29.95)

6 cups cubed bread

1 (10-ounce) package frozen spinach, thawed

½ white onion, chopped

2 tablespoons butter

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

½ cup heavy cream (optional)

6 ounces Roquefort or other blue-veined cheese, crumbled

3 cups whole milk or half-and-half

3 large eggs

½ teaspoon fine sea salt or table salt

Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

One 8- to 9-inch gratin dish or other baking pan, well buttered

Set a rack in the middle level of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees.

Scatter the bread cubes on a jellyroll pan and bake for about 15 minutes to dry them.

Meanwhile, wring the water out of the thawed spinach a handful at a time.

Cook the onion in the butter over low heat in a medium sauté pan until it's soft and translucent. Stir in the spinach, season with a little salt and pepper, and cook until the spinach is no longer watery, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the heavy cream if you're feeling indulgent, and cool slightly. Add the Roquefort.

Whisk the milk with the eggs, salt, pepper and nutmeg.

Put the warm bread cubes in a large mixing bowl and fold in half the milk mixture, followed by the spinach mixture. Transfer to the prepared baking dish and pour over the rest of the milk mixture. Let the pudding rest for 10 or 15 minutes before baking.

Bake the pudding until set and the top has browned nicely, 45 to 55 minutes.

Cool on a rack for 5 minutes, then serve hot from the baking pan.

Note: To use fresh spinach, rinse 1 pound of baby spinach and put it in a large pan over high heat. Once the water on the spinach starts to give off a little steam, cover the pan and steam the spinach until it's wilted and cooked through, about 5 minutes, checking several times that it isn't boiling dry.

Drain and cool, then squeeze out and chop.

Roasted asparagus and gruyere bread pudding: Trim 1pound asparagus to 4-inch length and soak them for at least 20 minutes at a time in several changes of water to release any sand. Set a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat to 450 degrees. Lift the asparagus from the water, drain them in a colander, and roll them around on a couple of paper towels to blot away excess moisture. Arrange the asparagus on a jelly-roll pan and add a tablespoon or two of olive oil. Roll the asparagus around on the pan to coat them evenly and bake, shaking the pan to roll them around, so that they cook evenly. They should cook through and be lightly charred in 10 to 15 minutes. Cool the asparagus and cut them into 2-inch lengths.

When assembling the bread pudding, substitute the asparagus for the spinach and 1½ (6 ounces) coarsely grated Swiss gruyère for the Roquefort.

Broccoli and cheddar bread pudding: Cut a 1½-pound head of broccoli into florets and cook them in boiling salted water until tender. Drain, cool and cut into smaller pieces if large. Substitute the cooked broccoli for the spinach and 1½ cups (6 ounces) coarsely grated sharp cheddar for the Roquefort.

Add the flour, baking powder, salt, pepper and baking soda to the bowl of a stand mixer and mix to combine. Slowly add the eggs and olive oil, mixing until just combined. Add the buttermilk 1½ cups of the mozzarella cheese, the Parmesan cheese, and the pepperoni and mix until just combined. Pour half of the batter into the prepared pan.

Top evenly with the marinara sauce, then pour the remaining batter over the sauce. Top with the Italian seasoning and the remaining ¼ cup mozzarella cheese.

Bake for 45 to 55 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean from the center. Let cool for 30 minutes before serving.